Washington Capitals head equipment manager Brock Myles experienced the outdoor game whirlwind last season when the Caps played in the NHL’s Winter Classic at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

In addition to the challenge of being prepared with gear to meet a variety of weather conditions, Washington also wore throwback uniforms.

That meant changing pretty much everything, from T-shirts to underwear to bags to locker room nameplates in order to match the throwback motif.

“Basically, we turned back time and we used the old Caps logo and the old Caps colors,” Myles said Thursday. “That was a huge, huge task at hand, and that started months and months before the game itself with all that stuff that needed to be ordered.”

With the Hershey Bears poised to play the Adirondack Phantoms Friday night in the AHL’s Outdoor Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Bears equipment manager Justin Kullman and trainer Dan “Beaker” Stuck have been dealing with many of the same issues.

The Bears will wear special Outdoor Classic jerseys and have Outdoor Classic logos adhered to their helmets, and special cold-weather gear was taken on the trip. Hershey players also are getting commemorative locker room nameplates and hoodies with their number on them.

Myles said he planned to call Kullman Thursday just to touch base. He consulted with Kullman and Stuck about Hershey’s outdoor game during Capitals training camp.

“They had lot of questions, and I think we pretty much got everything hammered out,” Myles said.

“Justin is a professional. I’m sure they’ve got everything down pat.”

Stuck said he also consulted with Flyers equipment manager Harry Bricker, a Hummelstown native who was his assistant in Hershey, and Caps head athletic trainer Greg Smith.

In addition, Stuck has enlisted Mark Andersen, longtime assistant athletic trainer of the Philadelphia Phillies who retired after last season, to help during the locker room setup and during the game.

“We use our resources,” Stuck joked.

“If anybody knows that place, it’s going to be Mark Andersen. He’s been over there for 20 years.”

Washington’s Winter Classic was played in unseasonably moderate temperatures and in rain.

The Caps ordered 20-25 boxes of cold-weather gear from Reebok (the same stuff used by NFL teams). The way it turned out, towels were in heaviest demand for players to use wiping visors.

“We had no players wear any extra tops or bottoms,” Myles said. “The only thing during the game, we had some guys use some hand warmers.”

Indications are that most of the Bears will end up doing the same, sticking with their typical in-game wardrobe and not wearing anything extra.

“When we went to Milton Hershey School [for an outdoor practice on Wednesday], not too many guys switched it up too much,” Kullman said.

“I think it will be played as a normal game in terms of what they wear under their gear.”

What won’t be normal is the long distance between the locker rooms and the team benches.

The Bears, like the Caps did, will wear skate guards during their treks to and from the rink.

“You have 20 guys coming off like cattle,” Myles said. “You have to get all these skate guards on so they can get to the locker room, take a break and get back out.”

No adjustments were made to the Caps’ skates or sticks for outdoor ice.

“We didn’t change anything with the skate sharpening,” Myles said. “The ice wasn’t great, but our guys did not complain whatsoever. We didn’t have to redo one skate the whole game.

“The guys really enjoyed the moment of the game and the atmosphere. They didn’t ask for anything more or different.”

Kullman said he planned to assess Hershey’s skate needs after Friday’s morning skate at the stadium.

“If we need to change for the ice surface,” he said, “we’ll make those adjustments in the afternoon.”

The team benches, like the NHL benches in the Winter Classic, will be heated. If they have electrical outlets, Kullman said, he plans to have a glove dryer on the bench like the Caps did in Pittsburgh.

It won’t be all seriousness. Kullman said he might wear an Atlanta Braves cap and sweatshirt on the bench in the home of the Phillies.

“I’m going to be a Braves fan,” he joked. “I just want to see Chipper Jones’s stall.”

Myles predicts the enormity of the situation will hit Kullman and Stuck once they get the team’s gear unpacked and set up the locker room.

“You don’t realize how big of an event this is until you hang up all the equipment and you walk outside and you see all the lights on and you see the rink,” Myles said.

“It’s not your typical 8,000-, 9,000-seat rink. They’re going to realize when they get there that they’re not in Lowell on a Tuesday night or in Albany on a Thursday night. It’s a pretty big event for them.”

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